Is there any one man shop making around 500k$ in annual sayles

[ikarasu]

Another thing to consider before adding an employee... are you busy ALL the time?

we don't make a profit in Nov-Dec-Jan, and actually lose money. The employees we need from feb-Oct kind of kill our nov-jan profits, especially being in the sign/wrap business when not much happens in winter...at least around here.

so unless youre willing to lay them off during downtime... Finding a helper might be the way to go.

Of course then Covid hits. We have Helpers for certain jobs that are huge.... about 10 people we constantly call on to help us with certain jobs.... who all said no, the government is paying them not to work, so they wouldnt come in unless theyre paid under the table. So now you're stuck using a temp agency paying $30ish an hour to get a temp in to do the job... (We'll never bring those people back, even if we need them and are in a bind... ) So yeah... Win some, lose some. sometimes a helper makes sense... sometimes you're just stuck paying wages for months of downtime.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Another thing to consider before adding an employee... are you busy ALL the time?

we don't make a profit in Nov-Dec-Jan, and actually lose money.

Thats part of the diminishing returns that comes with adding people. You can work by yourself in your basement and when slow times come, you just stay in bed. When you get full time employees that you intend on keeping and it gets slow, you stay in bed while you pay them to weed your garden. This can get exponential.

 

[victor bogdanov]

Years ago I did about 800k with me, my wife and my mother, BUT we all worked like owners easily doing the work of 6-7 regular people. Now I'm up to 8-9 employees total but the 3 of our family members are probably doing 75% of the work, but we also take 90% of the profit . All inhouse at very competitive prices

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I'm over 1 mil so far this year and mostly one man w/ part time family help. A majority of my role is project management, I sub a lot of manufacturing and then sub out installs which allows me to handle a higher volume. It also helps that my average ticket is between $20-$60k so it doesn't take a lot of orders to get me there. Most of my work is national.

So yes, you can get your sales there...but it's from subbing out and that comes with its own set of problems. I've had many sleepless nights pissed over subs and have paid the piper on their mistakes. I got hit with thousands of dollars of fuck ups last week, one from a bad sub and one from shipping damage.

 

[Boudica]

I'm over 1 mil so far this year and mostly one man w/ part time family help. A majority of my role is project management, I sub a lot of manufacturing and then sub out....

Next time, I'm ordering the big salad!

 

[Boudica]

Next time, I'm ordering the big salad!

And Notta better not take credit for buying that big salad.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Super-size

 

[Johnny Best]

When we broke a million we were a 4 man shop.

He was asking about one person making $500,000 per year, you guys are only making $250,000 a year for one. You need to get moving and make 2 million with four a year.

 

[ColorCrest]

All the install are sub-out.

I might help you to know that the sub-out installs of your work is considered as part of your total labor spend and termed "return on workforce (ROW)" as opposed to "revenue per employee (RPE.)"

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

He was asking about one person making $500,000 per year, you guys are only making $250,000 a year for one. You need to get moving and make 2 million with four a year.

Better reread his post... Are there any one man shops or less than 3 that are making $500k.

Also, it can be done by brokering. We have a client that does 3 million a year and she just sells independently and works with Large Chain restaurants and retailers.

 

[Johnny Best]

Better reread his post... Are there any one man shops or less than 3 that are making $500k.

Also, it can be done by brokering. We have a client that does 3 million a year and she just sells independently and works with Large Chain restaurants and retailers.

I read what he said and what you replied by making one million with four people, sounded like bragging.

 

[Stacey K]

I do everything myself, bookwork, production, design. I sub out printing then do the installations. Sometimes I have a helper for a few hours For me it's less about total sales than it is about taking on profitable jobs that puts the maximum amount of money in my personal checking account each month. My overhead is extremely low so my profits are higher. I am also a landlord so that is a "side business" which requires time and effort. Some days I think of expanding my business, but the simplicity of my set-up works pretty well for me. If your sales are a million and you bring home 50k or your sales are 100 and you bring home 50k...its looks the same to me or am I missing something?

 

[ColorCrest]

Better reread his post... Are there any one man shops or less than 3 that are making $500k.

Also, it can be done by brokering. We have a client that does 3 million a year and she just sells independently and works with Large Chain restaurants and retailers.

In the form as written, this appears as a very risky and highly volatile business proposition. What happens with the work if the single soul were to, in any way, stop?

The shops I'm familiar with would have at least 1 sales assistant / project manager (especially for retail chain work) for every $1M the super star salesperson was responsible for, if the single salesperson were even granted so much volume to themselves. Also, there would be from approx 5-9 other production souls counted and included in the $1M salesperson's orbit.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

I read what he said and what you replied by making one million with four people, sounded like bragging.

It wasn't bragging, he asked a question and I answered with our experience. He didn't ask for details on how and didn't provide details on his niche until asked.

I have ideas for him on processes, automation, and equipment to accomplish his goal with his current niche but others beat me to the majority of it.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

In the form as written, this appears as a very risky and highly volatile business proposition. What happens with the work if the single soul were to, in any way, stop?

The shops I'm familiar with would have at least 1 sales assistant / project manager (especially for retail chain work) for every $1M the super star salesperson was responsible for, if the single salesperson were even granted so much volume to themselves. Also, there would be from approx 5-9 other production souls counted and included in the $1M salesperson's orbit.

Does it matter? If it's a single person company and that person dies it doesn't matter if the company continues on?

 

[victor bogdanov]

If your sales are a million and you bring home 50k or your sales are 100 and you bring home 50k...its looks the same to me or am I missing something?

I think both ways have their strengths and weakness. on the 1M revenue you have more cushion if the market/economy goes down, you could fire people and take on their job, cut costs in other ways and still take home the same amount. On 100k revenue you are more sensitive to fluctuations.

I think the most important component of that equation is how time it takes to take the 50k home. On 1M if your take home is low then you are probably relaxing at home all day while someone else does the work

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I do everything myself, bookwork, production, design. I sub out printing then do the installations. Sometimes I have a helper for a few hours For me it's less about total sales than it is about taking on profitable jobs that puts the maximum amount of money in my personal checking account each month. My overhead is extremely low so my profits are higher. I am also a landlord so that is a "side business" which requires time and effort. Some days I think of expanding my business, but the simplicity of my set-up works pretty well for me. If your sales are a million and you bring home 50k or your sales are 100 and you bring home 50k...its looks the same to me or am I missing something?

Agreed. I think many people miss this in their endless pursuit of a dollar. I like to talk with the older business owners, many of them started small, got big, then went small again. Seems the only regret that they have is getting big. I suppose it all boils down to where you want to be in life. If you make 150k a year, will 300k make your life any better? Chances are no and it will just add more stress. One thing is certain, there will always be someone else who makes more and there will always be someone else who has more. That's a tiring race to be in.

 

[ColorCrest]

Does it matter? If it's a single person company and that person dies it doesn't matter if the company continues on?

Certainly it matters to the customer and their services provided by the "single" person. Also likely, any dependents, business or otherwise.

To qualify as a preferred vendor, especially with buyers such as retail chains, they often inquire with exactly the same questions; what if something happens if you, and what happens when your key machine goes down? It's part of their BPO; business process outsourcing evaluation and qualification.

Further, a single person company is almost always a misnomer. The person is really "in the company of others." If I were doing with business with Alice Superbroker, my record of her in my business software would certainly hold and display directly related contact records such as her assistant(s), receiving / delivery persons, etc.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Certainly it matters to the customer and their services provided by the "single" person. Also likely, any dependents, business or otherwise.

To qualify as a preferred vendor, especially with buyers such as retail chains, they often inquire with exactly the same questions; what if something happens if you, and what happens when your key machine goes down? It's part of their BPO; business process outsourcing evaluation and qualification.

Further, a single person company is almost always a misnomer. The person is really "in the company of others." If I were doing with business with Alice Superbroker, my record of her in my business software would certainly hold and display directly related contact records such as her assistant(s), receiving / delivery persons, etc.

I can tell you right now, that is not always the case. We print consistently for entities (on her behalf, we don't exist to them in most cases) that know she is a 1 woman show, and they are happy with it because she gets the job done for them.

It's no misnomer if there is only 1 person on the employee roster... it's a 1 person show, as is the case I mentioned. Everyone else is a service provider or a sub, not an employee.

Texas_Signmaker sounds like he is in a similar situation and described as such in his response, I guarantee most Large companies don't really care what your contingency plan is... They build their own unless they are an incompetent government agency.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I can tell you right now, that is not always the case. We print consistently for entities (on her behalf, we don't exist to them in most cases) that know she is a 1 woman show, and they are happy with it because she gets the job done for them.

It's no misnomer if there is only 1 person on the employee roster... it's a 1 person show, as is the case I mentioned. Everyone else is a service provider or a sub, not an employee.

Texas_Signmaker sounds like he is in a similar situation and described as such in his response, I guarantee most Large companies don't really care what your contingency plan is... They build their own unless they are an incompetent government agency.

Christian is right. If I die then my big clients fall back on the secondary sign companies they deal with but don't prefer it. It's called redundant vendors. I get a vast majority of the business because of the superior service I offer. They know I don't manufacture everything in house, but they do know that I have very reliable partners and know how to get shit done, and if something is falling behind or a mistake I will pack my truck up and drive across the country to fix it.